[✔] Lockout of Sanity (boyxboy)

18. Towards the End

They remember the lockdown in South Vulgar Prison as they cautiously move out of the room and make their way through the narrow corridor. This is somewhat familiar to that time. The only difference is that this place now is brightly lit compared to the suffocating walls of the prison. Other than that, they also now have no idea who or what they are running or hiding from. Back in the prison, their enemies were visible. But now... Nothing is clear. Only confusion after confusion. It's suffocating in their minds rather than in their lungs.

CJ can only guess of whatever occurred here could be the result of that a loose shooter. Perhaps... But it's too soon to jump into conclusions and if it is a loose shooter, he has no idea why that person wanted all these people clad in white dead. But then again, he silently thinks in his head that sometimes, we don't really need a reason to kill. Along the way, he saw dead bodies on the floor wearing similar white jumpsuit as they are wearing. He can only infer from the scene that everyone wearing white in this place is targeted. So, the both of them are not safe.

He suddenly feels Yuri tugged on his shirt, awakening him from his thoughts to divert his attention towards something. He follows Yuri's eyes and immediately, some of his questions are answered. There, in the middle of a large hallway, a banner is visible. 'Welcome to Golden Research Facility' was written on it. That is their first clue. That's where they are at now.

"Yuri...," CJ called in a whisper, but surprised at how loud the sound of his voice travelled across the deadly silent hallway.

"What?" He whispered back.

"Do you hear that?"

Yuri strains his ear to hear something. Anything. But... "I hear nothing," he answered in a panic whisper.

"Exactly," CJ agreed.

With that, they both let their guard down for a while. CJ notices something in the distant and his eyes light up. "Wait," he instructed and rushes out towards where his eyes had caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a security guard's dead body, leaving Yuri where he stands. He searches the dead body and with a grin, carries back with him a gun and a rifle after checking to see if they are both loaded. They are both indeed loaded though not fully but that is enough to somehow set his mind at ease. "Someone used a gun to murder people here," he said. "Now let's find this fucker and kill him," he suggested with a grin.

Yuri took the rifle instead of the gun. He smiles sinisterly. "I like big guns and I cannot lie," he sang, jokingly to the tune of the song's lyrics of 'I like big butts and I cannot lie'. They both laugh and their laughter echoes but they don't care now. They feel invincible. It was like they are high on something, on the desire to hurt and kill.

They both start to search the building for the killer. There are no signs of movement at all or any sounds, leaving them quite frustrated. So instead, they start to look for an exit to the building. Perhaps the shooter had run off? They saw a door that is wide open leading to the parking lot of the facility through the cafeteria. They head for the door and stumble upon a puzzling sight. Right outside the door, lies a body of a dead man wearing a white jumpsuit. It's not odd to see such a corpse but what odd is that this man... he had shot himself instead of being shot like the others inside the facility. It was obvious from the splatter of the brain and flesh on the ground around him and the wide meaty bloody hole around the areas of what used to be a mouth and a jaw. He had put the rifle in his mouth and shot himself. They also realizes that the man has ammunitions around his body and they both deduce there and then that this man was the loose shooter. "What a waste... we didn't even get a chance to hurt him. He just have to kill himself," Yuri complained.

Disappointed, they only wish to flee now. So they stare at the rows of cars at the parking lot. They both thought of the same thing. They can just pick one and run off and maybe after that, only start to figure out whatever this is that's going on. They will surely find some sort of explanation for it. Nothing that a simple internet search can't do as long as they have the details lined up in the documents they took. The documents itself looked to be pretty confidential. They look around as they jog towards the cars, checking one by one to find an unlocked vehicle. Or worst, they'll just have to go back in again to find any car keys from the dead victims. The idea that there could be other survivors or authorities responsible did not cross their minds.

It is only a second later that they realize that they are being watched as they heard a voice from behind them, speaking calmly with silent footsteps approaching. They are obviously surrounded. "Put the guns down," was what said by the person behind them. 'Great... what's next?' was somewhat the thought that conjured up in their heads. They look at each other. They smile at each other and nod knowingly, understanding of each other's clear intentions. This life. Or the next. It doesn't matter. They had their fun. Maybe if they die, they can wake up to another reality. But if they never wake up, it doesn't matter anymore. At least... they die trying and they didn't give in.

"Yuri," CJ spoke with a sad and satisfied smile on his face and Yuri follows; "CJ..." with one final grin emphasizing his pretty boy features. Calling each other's names as both a 'hello' and a 'goodbye', raising up their guns for a final battle, not knowing where the strength come from, they turn around. What greeted them was not the sound of gunshots.

There's a sound of electric shock. And they realized that they had fallen before they even start the war. They were tased by a taser. As their bodies shook violently from the current, thousands of unfamiliar memories flooded through their heads and it all finally made sense. They had found the answers to their confusion. There's no telling of whether the truth is satisfying or ultimately frustrating.